Five Things To Learn From Ink Attack On Kashmir MLA Rashid

The ink attack on Independent Kashmir legislator by ‘Hindu Sena’ group at Press Club in New Delhi took place hours after Shiv Sainiks raided BCCI office in Mumbai to disrupt a meeting between PCB Chief and his Indian counterpart.

A post-mortem of the twin ‘attacks’ has the following messages:

An Emboldened Right Wing

These elements which killed Gandhi immediately after India gained independence from colonialists are trying to get the best out of the ‘freedom they are enjoying under the new political dispensation’. These attacks suggest that these elements would come out more strongly in future because of political patronage.

Democracy painted black in India

Days after Shiv Sainiks smeared with ink face of Sudhendra Kulkarni, the organizer of Khurshid Kasuri book launch in Mumbai, similar elements attacked Er Rashid who was in Delhi to highlight that the mastermind of the attack on Kashmir truckers on October 9 (one of the truckers, a 10th standard student passed away yesterday) is still at large. His black face (painted with black ink) represented everything that is wrong with Indian democracy.

Right Wing commentators Justifying Attack on Rashid

The saddest part of the episode is watching BJP politicians and their symathisers, including TV journalists and commentators, justifying the attack on Rashid. In fact, the most painful part is watching them accuse Rashid of inviting the trouble. As if thrashing him in Kashmir assembly wasn’t enough, these commentators justify the attack by accusing Rashid of inviting the ire by holding a beef party (which by the way wasn’t against the law as SC had passed a stay order on beef ban petition?.

Silence of Mr Modi

It took Prime Minister Narendra Modi more than ten days to condemn the lynching of a Muslim man Ikhlaq Ahmad in Dadri area of Uttar Pradesh by a more than 200-strong Hindu mob over rumours (that later turned out false) that he had consumed beef. Modi said the killing was “unfortunate and saddening”, but stopped short of saying anything on the punishment the attackers deserved. Normally, PM is quick enough to tweet condemnations but the silence for so many days, willy-nilly, emboldens the right wing to go ahead with their fanatic and fascist attitude. Surprising is the way Prime Minister is trying to play the saint by saying that the lynching have happened in states and that the Centre has no role in them. However, PM was caught in a tight after former Kashmir CM asked him to answer people how killing of Zahid Rasool Bhat, a Kashmiri trucker happened in a state where his BJP shares power with PDP.

Majority Rules The Roost

Given the way, right-wing leaders are handling the issue, it seems that very soon people from all minority groups will be asked to live as per whims and fancies of religious majority here. The way they think, eat or practice their religion shall have to be adjusted according to the version of majority religion right-wing practices. The reason is that so-called intelligentsia in this country having affiliations with the BJP sees ‘hate for Modi’ in every move. Some of them argue that writers are giving up their awards because they hate Modi not for growing intolerance in the country. Had that been the case, they argue, these writers would have given up their awards after anti-Muslim Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 because they happened before Modi became the Prime Minister.

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